Measure Aims to Reduce Unnecessary Opioid Prescriptions

Employers and insurers in California are enthusiastic about the prospects of legislation that aims to reduce the chances of injured workers getting hooked on opioids when they are recovering from workplace injuries.

Senate Bill 482, which is sailing the through the Legislature, would require doctors to first check the state’s prescription drug monitoring system before writing a prescription for opioids.

The bill is moving through the state Legislature after a new study found that doctors have been seriously curtailing the amount of opioid prescriptions they write to injured workers. The study found that stronger laws on prescription drug monitoring were likely a main reason for opioid prescriptions having waned during the study period.

SB 482 aims to further tackle the opioid scourge that has hit injured workers hard, leading to addictions that reduce the chances of them returning to their at-injury employer. California has already seen a decrease in the opioid prescriptions for injured workers, but if this legislation passes, it would strengthen safeguards even further.

SB 482, authored by Sen. Ricardo Lara, a Democrat from Bell Gardens, aims to force doctors to use the Controlled Substance and Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) database.

Even though CURES is the oldest such system in the nation, legislators believe that few doctors consult it before writing prescriptions for opioids, which are highly addictive and are often associated with slower recovery periods for injured workers.

Under the measure, doctors authorized to prescribe, order, administer, furnish or dispense a controlled substance, would be required to check CURES no earlier than 24 before writing a prescription for a Schedule II, Schedule III or Schedule IV controlled substance for the first time – and at least annually thereafter.

Doctors who knowingly fail to check the database before writing a prescription would be referred to their licensing board for administrative sanctions.

The measure has already been passed by the State Senate and two committees in the Assembly (in unanimous votes) and looks like it will have a smooth ride on the Assembly floor thanks to amendments that were made in June.

Employers and insurers are encouraging passage of the bill.

The American Insurance Association says that CURES and other prescription drug monitoring programs have been shown to be effective in controlling the practice of “doctor shopping”, whereby patients will visit different doctors to obtain prescriptions for addictive medications. The association also said it will protect patients and improve outcomes.

Additionally, the California Chamber of Commerce says that SB 482 would discourage doctor shopping and identify the handful of physicians who write the majority of inappropriate prescriptions for opioids.

Addictive Medications

Schedule II: Substances that have a high potential for abuse which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.

Schedule IV: Substances in this schedule have a lower potential for abuse than schedule III drugs.

Types: : Brand names Xanax, Soma and Valium.

The study

The study, released in June by the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute, found “significant” decreases in the amount of opioid prescriptions being written for injured workers.

Fourteen of the 25 states examined by the institute recorded decreases in opioid prescriptions of between 11% and 31% in the study period, which measured 24-month periods ending in March 2012 and March 2014.

Michigan saw the biggest drop (31%), followed by Oklahoma (29%) and Massachusetts (24%). Texas saw a drop of 19%; Connecticut, 17%; California, 12%; and Pennsylvania, 4%. Just four states saw increases.

The institute noted that the decreases coincided with various states enacting legislation aimed at reducing the abuse of opioids by improving prescription drug monitoring programs and adopting more stringent treatment guidelines and drug formularies.